The present invention is directed to a roll-off truck/trailer that has a weighing system on the truck/tailer for weighing the box on the truck/tailer. More specifically, the weighing system of the present invention is directed to four load cells mounted on top of lifts. The bottom of the lifts are rigedly secured to the frame or chasis of a roll-off truck/tailer to weigh the roll-off box on the roll-off truck/tailer.
Presently, roll-off trucks have a standard track or two rails that are moved from a horizontal position on the truck to a position having the back end of the rails touching the ground and the front end raised to hoist a box up on the rails. The roll-off box, which can be empty or filled, has a pair of beams which are spaced on the bottom of the box so that when pulled on to the rails of the roll-off lift they are outside the rails. A plurality of rollers are on the outside of each rail of the roll-off lift. The beams of the box have a height just sufficient to contact the rollers. When the box is pulled toward the truck, the box is aligned with the rails of the roll-off truck aligning the box with the rails of the roll-off lift inside the beams of the roll-off box. The box will slide up on the rails and on the rollers of the roll-off lift. This system has been used to collect metals, scrap, trash, etc.
The presently used or prior art weighing system for collected material is to weigh a truck/tailer with a box empty of material and with material in the box, using the difference in weight to determine the weight of the collected material. This system of weighing requires the use of scales that can weigh the heavy weight of truck/tailer, box and material. However, this weighing system has the disadvantage that the truck/tailer must be driven to the scale to weigh the truck/tailer with the box both empty of material and fill of material and causes the weight to be inaccurate to the extent of any change in weight of the fuel in moving the truck/tailer from the scale and returning the truck/tailer for the second weighing.
The present invention is directed to a roll-off truck/trailer and a method for weighing the box that is positioned horizontally on the truck/trailer. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a weighing system mounted on a roll-off truck/trailer that has four lifts, two on each side of the truck/trailer, and load cells mounted on top of each of the four lifts. The method of the present invention involves positioning a box in a horizontal position on the roll-off truck/tailer and lifting the box with load cells that are fixed to the top of lifts mounted on each side of the truck/trailer. In addition, a hydraulic system, connected to the normal hydraulic system of the truck/trailer, actuates the lifts in an even manner so that the box is lifted off the rails of the truck/trailer onto the load cells for measurement of the box or box and material.